silver (01/20/83)
Thanks for all the responses! Whew! That'll make me think twice about asking a question again (sure, it will...) Anyway, it seems that everyone agrees that nil pointer derefs are poor practice; many systems trap them; and, as I suspected, in some cases, a nil pointer (i.e., int *a; a = 0) does point to real, modifiable memory. In some cases on the same systems (dep. on ld options), you get a signal if you commit this heinous crime. Some people didn't realize that I asked the question cause my system does trap the attempt, so I couldn't "try it". OK? No more mail please? (~@ Alan Silverstein